Everyday Cleaning

One of the things that I struggle with is finding the time and energy to keep my house clean and tidy EVERY day of the week! Trav and I find that by the time we get home in an evening, especially in the winter when it gets dark so early and the weather is bad, all we want to do is lay on the couch!

Our laziness meant that whenever the weekend rolled around, or people came over unexpectedly, we were running around like chickens with our heards cut off trying to clean as fast as we could. We needed to keep things in better shape consistently, so the cleaning and tidying were less time-consuming in the long run.

I found this article (below) at Real Simple magazine's website - and although it may seem self-explanatory - I found it really helpful. I like to have a plan, goals, and a deadline, and this article fit my personality. So we based our approach on the Real Simple article, and assigned ourselves both everyday tasks (keeping the dishes out of the sink!!) and a larger cleaning chore for each day (dusting, etc.) It's working out well so far. If you have any housekeeping secrets of your own - please share! Here's to a consistently clean and tidy home in 2009!

The Keep-It-Clean Plan

With a plan of attack, you can maintain a sparkling house in just 19 minutes a day

Mikkel Vang

These room-by-room to-do lists will help you get the work done quickly so you can put your feet up sooner rather than later.

Kitchen, 4 1/2 minutes daily

Always start with the sink. "Keep it empty and shining," says Marla Cilley, author of Sink Reflections (Bantam, $15) and creator of www.FlyLady.net, a housekeeping website. A sparkling sink becomes your kitchen's benchmark for hygiene and tidiness, inspiring you to load the dishwasher immediately and keep counters, refrigerator doors, and the stove top spick-and-span, too.

Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).

Wipe down the stove top (one minute).

Wipe down the counters (one minute).

Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).

Bathroom, 2 minutes daily

Make cleaning the basin as routine as washing your hands. But don't stop there. Get the most out of your premoistened wipe by using it to clean around the edges of the tub and then the toilet before tossing it.

Wipe out the sink (30 seconds). Wipe the toilet seat and rim (15 seconds).

Swoosh the toilet bowl with a brush (15 seconds).

Wipe the mirror and faucet (15 seconds).

Squeegee the shower door (30 seconds).

Spray the entire shower and the curtain liner with shower mist after every use (15 seconds).

Bedroom, 6 1/2 minutes daily

Make your bed right before or after your morning shower. A neat bed with inspire you to deal with other messes immediately. Although smoothing sheets and plumping pillows might not seen like a high priority as you're rushing to work, the payoff comes at the end of the day, when you slip back under the unruffled covers.

Make the bed (two minutes).

Fold or hang clothing and put away jewelry (four minutes).

Straighten out the night-table surface (30 seconds).

Family Room, Living Room, Foyer, 6 minutes daily

Start with the sofa — as long as it's in disarray, your living room will never look tidy. Once you've fluffed the pillows and folded the throws, you're halfway home. If you pop in a CD while you dust, you should be able cover the whole room by the end of the third track.

Pick up crumbs and dust bunnies with a handheld vacuum (one minute).

Fluff the cushions and fold throws after use (two minutes).

Wipe tabletops and spot-clean cabinets when you see fingerprints (one minute).

Straighten coffee-table books and magazines. Throw out newspapers. Put away CDs and videos. (Two minutes.)